Changing Your Apple ID and Credit Card: A Surprising Discovery

Published January 20, 2022

The rule of thumb is that changing an Apple ID requires a cancel and re-application of the Apple Pay credit card.  Much to my surprise, I didn’t find that to be the case.

Unfortunately, as a result of a data breach, I was forced to change email and password information on several websites (85 to be exact). Included in that tedious exercise was the Apple ID. Since my compromised email served as my Apple ID, I had to change it, and change it quickly.

In this past year of cozying up to the iPad Air, I’ve learned to appreciate Apple’s technology and have fallen deeper into the Apple ecosystem. As an Apple resident, I ventured into using Apple Pay (actually, it was my first credit card in decades). I didn’t want my newly found Applehood to fall into the hands of nefarious ne’er do wells. Hence, the expedient Apple ID and password change.

Not as Simple As I Thought

Currently, I have 3 Apple devices, an old iPhone 6, an iPhone 12, and an iPad Air. I decided to change the password on the old iPhone first. Let’s face it, if I screw it up, at least my current phone is still intact. So, I followed the directions as explained on the Apple site to change the password on the old phone. When that worked properly, I then changed the password on the other devices. With the password changed, it was time to change the Apple ID.

Changing the Apple ID was a bit trickier. I went to the Apple site and read their instructions. I followed them, sort of. One of the first things it says to do is sign out of all Apple services and devices then follow the necessary steps to accomplish the task.

Well, I didn’t sign out of all Apple services and devices. I signed out of the services for two devices but remained signed in on my iPhone 12. Why? Because the iPhone 12 is the only device that has my ApplePay information. Before signing out completely I wanted to make sure I could still use it.

Apple Pay Credit Card Cancel and Re-Apply

A Chat with Goldman Sachs

Not wanting to misconstrue anything I’ve read, I decided to call Goldman Sachs, the card issuer, to have them talk me through the transition. The rep explained why it was necessary to cancel and re-apply for the credit card. Something to do with the phone’s ID number being tied to the credit account.

Resigned to the fact of having to cancel and re-apply, I started the process with her. I didn’t want to lose the cash in my Apple Cash account so I applied it towards the outstanding credit card balance. For those not familiar with Apple Pay, you earn daily cashback on purchases. The cashback goes into the Apple Cash account or your bank account, depending on how you set it up.

Canceling ApplePay Card

After applying the Apple Cash to the outstanding balance, I was ready to pay the remainder of the balance when the rep said, “Ok, sign in with the new email address because currently you’re signed in with newname@newname.com”. Huh? That is the new email address because the old one was oldname@oldname.com (yes, obviously fictitious email addresses).

We both stopped talking for a moment. She then reconfirmed the new email address, to which I replied, “Yep, that’s right.”

She then said, “You are the first person that I’ve ever spoken to that did not have to cancel and reapply for the credit card. All of your old information is alive and well under your new email address.”

Not Following Directions

I believe the transition went smoothly because I didn’t follow Apple’s directions to the letter. One of the first things Apple instructs is to sign out of all Apple services before starting the transition process. That’s not what I did. I transitioned on a per-device basis. I took care of the older devices first then the new ones.

By the time I got around to the new device, everything had transitioned. I can’t say that I truly understand what happened, but it’s been about a month and everything is working smoothly. Go Figure!

Last Modified: 5 September 2023